How to Churn Butter

There's nothing more delicious than fresh butter on home baked bread, rolls or just about anything. Butter is a healthy addition to anyone's diet when eaten in moderation. Churning your own butter guarantees you're using the freshest ingredients and getting the very best butter.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

1. Collect milk from cows or other animals such as goats, sheep or even buffalo.

2. Separate the milk from the cream. This can be done using a cream separator or allowing the cream to rise to the top of fresh milk. Be sure the cream is sweet and free from other flavors.

3. Add cultures to ferment milk if that is the flavor desired. This is most often done in butters from Europe and is call ripening.

4. Age the cream about 12 to 15 hours in a cool place. This allows the butterfat to crystallize making sure the butter is churned properly.

5. Churn cream until the butter begins to form. You will be left with a soft mass of butter and the remaining liquid. This is buttermilk.

6. Remove the butter from the buttermilk and wash in cool water to remove any remaining buttermilk. This ensures the butter will not spoil.

7. Salt butter to improve flavor and increase shelf life. If butter is to be use for baking, leave it unsalted.

Tips & Warnings

• Get kids involved in making butter by giving them a small baby food jar full of cream to shake. After a little while of shaking, they will each have a small butter ball of their own.

• The steps described are involved in home churning. The automated process of making butter is different.

• Look for a variety of sizes and types of butter churns at antique markets or on the Internet.